Which Camera Is Suitable For This Cs-Mount Fisheye Lens?

https://www.aico-lens.com/product/2-29mm-cs-fisheye-lens-acf118fm0229irmm/

Ha, ha, the tail chases the dog...

I found this very nice 2.29mm F1.4 CS-mount IR fisheye lens (1/1.8", 15MP):

It's nearly 2 F-stops better (and >$300 more expensive) than the lenses used in typical panoramic cameras, likely leading to much better low-light sensitivity. Has anyone seen this lens in the wild? Has anyone tried to use this or a similar lens to upgrade a panoramic camera? Which known, existing outdoor IR camera would you use to upgrade in this fashion?

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Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified

The panoramic cameras I’ve seen either don’t allow for lens replacement or are m12 style, not cs. Maybe an adapter would work?

But I don’t see why you couldn’t use a box camera.

It's nearly 2 F-stops better...

Do you mean “nearly 2” as in “exactly 1”?

I think F2.0 is not unusual for panoramics.

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Rico Blaser

In reply to Undisclosed #1

Hi, thanks for the reply!

Yes, adapters are widely available and relatively cheap.

Regarding F-stops, most of the modern megapixel fisheyes (including the ones mentioned below by John) are in the F2.2-2.4 range. So yes, 1-1/3 to 1-1/2 F-stops, or about 3x the light.

I wanted to avoid the box camera due to aesthetics and IR illumination.

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John Honovich

IPVM

I am not sure if you can get around using a box camera here since there are very few non-boxes that support CS mount add-on lensese.

The plus side is that you can pick a box camera that supports super low light (lightfinder, darkfighter, etc. marketing terms) and with the lens (assuming it's really f/1.4) might give very good low light performance.

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Rico Blaser

In reply to John Honovich

In my book, Lightfinder, Darkfighter, etc are basically marketing terms for using the back-illuminated Sony IMX-Family CMOS sensors (typically IMX178 / IMX226). Sony calls these „ExmorR“ / „Starvis“. However, nowadays these are pretty widely used and not just in box format. But yes, given the other constraints it might be difficult to get around it. I was initially hoping to take one of the fisheyes you mentioned (Hik, Vivotek, etc) with weather-proof casings and built-in IR and just and just exchange the lens. Thanks, BTW for the Axton Nano suggestion, I was not aware of this product.

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(1)

John Honovich

IPVM

In my book, Lightfinder, Darkfighter, etc are basically marketing terms for using the back-illuminated Sony IMX-Family CMOS sensors (typically IMX178 / IMX226)

That's not accurate. I am sure some of the super low light cameras use those chipsets but there are a wide variety of chipsets used in various imager sizes beyond what is included in that Sony series.

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Rico Blaser

In reply to John Honovich

Yes, you are right, I should have said Sony dominates the space rather than Sony equals the space ;-)

Related (mostly to your earlier reply) question: have you tested or are you planning to test the Vivotek FE9382-EHV? My initial thought was to add a m12-to-CS adapter to that camera and then try the F1.4 lens with that. But I have not even seen an official mention of this camera on IPVM.

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John Honovich

IPVM

are you planning to test the Vivotek FE9382-EHV

No, we are not. It is not that we see anything wrong with it, there's just a lot of fisheye cameras and not that great of a demand to test them.

To the extent that we do new fisheye camera tests, it will probably focus on the newer/upcoming 12MP ones.

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Rico Blaser

In reply to John Honovich

Ok, understood, thanks. Personally, I prefer to use a lower MP count with similar sensor size and use a better lens. In my experience, this provides a better picture in low-light situations (more light gets through the lens, pixels are larger).

For example, given the choice between the 5MP FE9382-EHV (1/1.8" sensor, F2.2 lens, multi-exposure WDR) and the 12MP FE9391-V (1/1.7" sensor, F2.2, digital WDR) I would always select the former.

Of course I understand that others might select differently, especially if their use case is a well- and evenly-lit environment.

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John Honovich

IPVM

Fisheye cameras, in our testing, are consistently quite dark in low light. While obviously there are moderate differences, if you really want details in low light, use IR.

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Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified

Regarding F-stops, most of the modern megapixel fisheyes (including the ones mentioned below by John) are in the F2.2-2.4 range...

Megapixel panoramics with F2.0 available from Axis, Bosch, Acti and others. Also, the site you mentioned has many m12 F2.0 fisheye lenses that would swap out easily.

As for the CS Mount lens using an adapter into say the Hik 6MP pano (if possible): Beware that although the image circle of the lens and the image format of the sensor are both 1/1.8” there could be some unexpected overshoot or vignette, since it’s a rectangular sensor and we don’t know the image circle size the Hik lens is projecting.

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Rico Blaser

In reply to Undisclosed #1

Yes, but out of the box it is a F2.2 or F2.4 lens typically. For half an F-stop I agree it is not worth going through the trouble of swapping lenses but for 1-1/2 it might be.

Good point on the image circle size, thank you!

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Undisclosed #1

IPVMU Certified

Yes, but out of the box it is a F2.2 or F2.4 typically.

Perhaps, but I was just pointing out that there were several mainstream options that ship with F2.0 in case you were going to purchase one.

Come to think of it I do have a M12 to CS adapter on my go pro:

Works fine.

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John Honovich

IPVM

Rico, As #1 says, you could use this with a box camera. This was somewhat common in the old days (say 2010 era) but the drawback is the cost and the aesthetics (it will literally stick out).

If low-light is a concern, why not use integrated IR panoramic cameras, e.g., Hikvision IR Panoramic Camera Tested, Vivotek 12MP IR Multi-Imager Tested, Hikvision 12MP IR 360 Tested or consider an add-on: Panoramic IR Illuminator Tested (Axton Nano)

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(1)

Brandon Knutson

IPVMU Certified

This find is likely a lens to slap on a megapixel box camera and play with in your office, in light and darkness. This combo would have been ready for prime time field deployment before 2010, as John eluded to.

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Undisclosed Manufacturer #2

It is a great lens (actually made by Evetar- do an image search on google) and my company has tested it on fixed body 4K/12MP box cameras. Although the optics are very good it is not suitable for 360 (ceiling mount) because the 1/2' Imagers will crop part of the FOV. The Price/Size/Weight don't make it a fit in most applications. I would go with integrated IR board mount Fisheye camera like others have mentioned.

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(1)

Undisclosed #1